Maria Sokol

NMR-based serum metabolomics in patients with low-differentiated serous ovarian cancer

In this pilot study the proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H NMR)-based metabolomics was applied to explore the serum metabolomes of the patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) and the patients with benign gynaecological disease and to identify the characteristic biomarkers. We analyzed serum samples from 17 HGSOC patients and 14 control patients with benign gynecological conditions. Serum metabolites were profiled using 1H NMR spectroscopy, and multivariate data analyses, including Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), were performed to identify discriminating metabolites. The multivariate analysis revealed the lower levels of the lipid compounds, choline, branched-chain amino acids, 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB), acetoacetate, and the higher level of lactate in the sera of the HGSOC patients compared to the control group. NMR-based metabolomic analysis can serve as a supporting method for the detection of ovarian cancer and may be useful as an adjunct to molecular diagnostics.